Family Matters
by carapau
Summary: An unexpected tragedy brings chaos to the Shijima family. Will Satsuki's life and death situation bring the family closer? Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** This is purely fan made, no profit will be made out if this. I don't hold the rights to Hanasaku Iroha or any of its characters.

**Tittle: **Family Matters

**Setting:** I had the idea for this fanfiction after watching episode 16. That last scene of the telephone ringing was what trigged this.

**Genres:** General, Drama, Family, Romance

**Characters:** This is story is basically centered on the Shijima family members, but there are a few other characters involved.

**Author's Note:** I made my own interpretations of the characters background story, since we still don't know a lot about what happened in the past. Plus, it was convenient to my plot *evil grin*

The phone was ringing, no one seemed to hear it but her. The girls were playing outside in the still empty and dirty pool, when they were supposed to be cleaning it. But she wasn't going to scold or punish them for that. They had been working hard and a few moments full of laughter and relaxation was something they needed and deserved. Her son Enishi was in that annoying woman's room again, trying to come up with new ideas to improve the business. She didn't felt like moving from the place where she sat at and even considered letting the call go to voice-mail, but that was not something she liked to do. It wasn't polite, and it could be a costumer wanting to make a reservation in the Inn, . So she begrudgingly went to pick it up.

- "Kissuiso Inn, how can I help you?"

- "Hello ma'am, I'm calling on behalf of Tokyo Central Hospital. I know this might be unusual but we were hoping someone at that Inn could help us identifying a patient we have hospitalized here at the moment. She was brought into the E.R. with no documents of identification and her only possession was a postcard of your Inn.

Immediately after hearing those words Sui, the sixty-eight-year-old Madam Manager of Kissuiso Inn, felt an ache squeezing at her heart. The unidentified person could be just a costumer that had stayed at the Inn recently, but she had the feeling it was much worse than that.

- "Hello? Ma'am, are you still there?"

- "Oh, yes. I'm sorry. Please continue."

- "Well, our unidentified patient is a woman somewhere in her thirties, she has dirty blond and shoulder length hair, with dark brown and cat-like eyes. She has a slim body, with an approximated height of 1,67m. We know this is a very vague description but anything you could say to us would be of great help."

The feeling of dread intensified tenfold. Now there was little doubt on who the unidentified person was now. The description fit perfectly. Her heart thumped in her chest furiously caused by the thought that the daughter that she had once disowned has lying in a hospital bed, in such a condition that made her unable to provide fo her personal info. Questions flooded her mind: What happened? How was she? Was it serious? Was she going to be alright?... But she had to keep her mind focused. She had to be sure that the mysterious patient was indeed her eldest child. A child that she had seen become a grown up woman with a child of her own. For a moment there, She worried on how she was going to tell Ohana about the news, specially if they were of the worst kind. but she pushed that though away. Now was not the time for that. First things first.

- "I'm sorry, I think I might know who that woman is, but I need to be sure. Could you give me a fax number? I'll fax you a photograph of the person I think she is to confirm her identification."

- "Sure, that would be a great help. Alright, the number is 96 xxxxxxxx".

- "Alright, I'm sending it right away". Putting the phone on the table, she quickly dashed for the precious diary that she kept with her at all times. Not everything in there was about the costumers that visit the Inn. She also kept there important and precious moments of her life with family and friends. From the middle of the diary came out a photo of a younger version of her daughter. She was still just a young woman back then. Still a university student, radiating a smile that could brightener anyone's day, no matter how dark and gloomy it had been until then. In little time she picked it up, and put it up on the fax machine and press the send button.

- "Please, let me know as soon as you get the photo."

- "Yes, I'm receiving it now... wait just a moment please..." Those moments seemed to last forever. The fear and anticipation growing by the second. Deep down she knew, you can call it woman's intuition, or mother's instinct, but she knew that it was her daughter. Still, she had a small hope that it would turn out to be someone else.

- "Ma'am, are you there?"

- "Yes, yes, I'm here. So?

- "Yes, it's a match. There is a significant age difference, but it's definitely the same person. So you do know who this woman is?"

There was no time to let the despair settle in. She needed to know more.

- "Yes, she's... She's my daughter."

- "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am, this must be a shocking and unpleasant way to find out about this but... could you give us her full name, birth-date, and any other relevant information you could provide?

- "Yes. Her name is Satsuki Matsumae, she is 38 year-old and was born on April's 28th of 1973. She is a widow. I will give any other information necessary when I get there. But please, can you tell me what happened? How is she?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you for filling out the information we needed, ma'am. It will suffice for now... As for the patient's condition, there isn't much I can tell you now ma'am. You need to ask the doctor responsible for her case. All I can say is that she was found on the street, shot twice in the torso. She had no possessions with her except for the postcard, so the police suspects it was the result of a armed robbery gone wrong..."

The air left from her lungs. So it really was bad. There was no way that being shot twice in the torso, in close range would have been anything but serious. She had to go the hospital... She had to see her. Her daughter needed her. Now was not the time to let old differences and grudges get in the way. No matter what, Satsuki was still her daughter. Now it was the time for her to stop being Madam Manager, and start acting like a mother, for once.

"I appreciate the call, I'll be there tomorrow."

" Yes, ma'am. We will be waiting, please have a safe trip. And rest assure, our hospital staff will do everything we can to take care of your daughter".

"Please do. Thank you again, and good day"

"Good day, ma'am."

Madam Manager hung the phone. For a few moments she stayed immobile, looking at the portrait of her daughter. Tears slid down her aged skin. She was not the kind of woman to show emotion. She had been raised not to. But now, with the sickening feeling of fear of losing her daughter taking over, a few silent tears were inevitable. Noticing the droplets of water staining the photo brought her out of that trance. As quickly as her body allowed it, she stood up and went to find her son Enishi.

The Young Master was at his desk, mulling over the financial balance of the Inn of the last month. Things weren't looking good, but that was not a novelty anymore. He struggled to find a way to improve the business, but all the things that he and his lovely Takako-san had come up with had either been a failure or down right rejected by his mot- er, Madam Manager. At that precise moment, said person entered the office.

"Mot- er, I mean, Madam Manager, we need to do something if... Mother? Is there something wrong? You seem distressed..."

"Is that woman you are infatuated with still here? If not call and tell her to get back here as soon as possible."

"Uh? Why? What happened? I thought you didn't like her and didn't want her here..."

"We have to leave to Tokyo as soon as possible. If she's so capable as you say, she can take care of the Inn management in our absence."

"Uh... alright, I'll do that. But why do we need to go to Tokyo? You haven't been to Tokyo in years, why now?

"Enough with the questions! Just do as I say, NOW!" - She shouted. She was not angry at him, his curiosity was understandable... But she just couldn't deal with this now, and yelling and slapping her youngest child had always been a way to vent her frustrations, especially if the cause of those frustrations was her daughter... Just like it was now.

"Alright mother, please calm down. Whatever it is, remember that loosing your temper like that is not good for your health."

Enishi had grown used to his mother harsh treatment, but seeing her loosing her temper like this was rare. And when it happened he knew that in a way or another the reason was always something related to his sister. At that moment his suspicions rose. For whatever reason they were going to Tokyo. That was the city where his sister lived... With his mother acting up like this, there was a high change that Satsuki was the reason for this unexpected trip. But he stayed quiet. For now he was going to do what he was told, he would have time to question his mother further during the train ride.

"Just do as I say. We need to take the next bullet train to Tokyo, so hurry up. Pack some clothes, we might need to stay for a few days. And call a cab to take us to the station."

"Yes mother, right away".

She had managed to regain her calm, she couldn't break down now. She needed to stay strong. And telling Enishi now what was happening wouldn't help at all. Being the cry-baby that he was for certain he would enter in despair. She knew how much he adored his sister. Despite their conflicting relationship when growing up, they had always been close to the point that it was safe to say he had a sister complex... He wouldn't be able to take it. Specially since it was unknown how bad the situation really was. That is why she was going to delay giving him the news as far as she could. Yet, she needed him at her side in a moment like this... If the worse was to happen... No, she could think of that... Her daughter Satsuki had always been strong, persistent and extremely stubborn, even more than she was. That was the reason why they still were at bad terms, even after so many years. Mother and daughter were both too stubborn for their own good... That is why she knew, her daughter would fight with all that she had to survive... She wouldn't dare leave Ohana orphan... again. She just couldn't...

In less than an hour after the phone call, mother and son were on a taxi on their way to the train stating to catch the last bullet train to Tokyo of the day. They had left Kissuiso with no explanations... Only Denroku, the janitor of the Inn and old friend of the Shijima family knew the reason for the sudden travel. He was Sui's confident, practically part of the family, he needed to know. And more importantly, she had needed to tell someone over the danger of crumbling down in her own despair. He was the only one she could share her pain with, at the moment.

Mother and son remained silent during great part of the train ride, but Enishi couldn't hold it in anymore, he had to know what was wrong, even more so if it had anything to do with his beloved sister.

"Mother, please tell me. Does this trip to Tokyo has anything to do with sis?"

She had been looking out the window for most of the trip, unable to even look at her son in the eyes, knowing she would have let it all out if she did. But now she couldn't avoid it anymore... He was asking, and she could do nothing else but to admit it ant tell everything she knew.

"I received a phone call early today from Tokyo Central Hospital. Satsuki... she was shot twice in the torso. The police thinks it was a robbery gone wrong. I don't know anything else about her condition."

Enishi couldn't believe what he was hearing... His sister... shot... twice! This couldn't be happening, not to her. His mouth went dry, his eyes went unfocused, his hands trembled... But he had to keep it together, he had to stay strong. For once in his life, he had to be strong, the man of the house, someone that his mother could rely on. He knew that in spite of his mother's apparent cold demeanor, she was only putting up a facade. Probably for his sake. He was very much aware that despite their difficult mother-daughter relationship, his mother loved Satsuki very much. The fact that she always lost her cool whenever her daughter was even mentioned was proof of that much. He also knew that his sister was their mother's favorite. Not that she didn't love him just as much, it was more that she had always seen what everybody saw. His sister was what the Inn needed to become a successful business again. She was beautiful, easy-going, smart, energetic, charismatic, always full of ideas... She would have been a great Madam Manager, had she wanted to take Sui's place. But she had refused, she didn't want to stay in that small countryside town. She wanted adventure, meet other people, other places, she wanted to see the world. At first that had been something that their mother was ready to consent, as long as she came back to take her place as Madam Manager after she satisfied her hunger for adventure. But she hadn't expected her daughter to suddenly get pregnant and marry soon after... Satsuki chose to make a life in Tokyo, find a job and raise her daughter. Even when Satsuki's husband passed away suddenly a few years after Ohana was born, she refused to go back to her hometown. Enishi have never really understood why she refused help. Wouldn't it have been better if she came back home? Raising Ohana would have been a lot easier if she did, she didn't had to do it alone... But he had his suspicions that she didn't want to come back out of sheer pride and stubbornness. She didn't want to admit defeat, she didn't want to admit her mother had been right all along... That had put an even bigger strain in the already shaky mother-daughter relationship. Bad things were said, and Madam Manager ended up disowning her eldest child, claiming even that she no longer had a daughter... Enishi knew his mother never truly meant that... But her stubborn nature again prevailed. Years passed, and now this was how things were. If the worst scenario were to become true, if his sister were to die, (he didn't even want to consider the possibility, but he had to face reality, that option wasn't out of the picture) it would kill his mother. Not just because of the pain cause by the loss of her dear daughter, but also because they hadn't had the chance to reconcile. True, the fact that Madam Manager had accepted to take Ohana in her care after Satsuki's "moonlight flit"had somehow eased that strain. And Satsuki's recent visit to the Inn surely had left its mark, in a good way. So why had this happened? It wasn't fair... He couldn't lose his precious sister, Madam Manager couldn't lose her daughter, and Ohana couldn't lose her mother.

"Enishi..."

He hadn't realized that he had been lost in his thoughts for a good while now, so he was startled when he heard his mother call his name.

"Y...Yes mother?"

" We have arrived." "Grab our bags and let's go."

"Yes, yes, of course mother."

They took a taxi and went straight to the hospital, bags of luggage in tow and everything. The check in at the hotel could wait. They needed to know, they needed to see her. Upon arriving at the hospital, they quickly made it to the reception desk. Sui did the talking.

"Excuse me, miss. We want to see Satsuki Matsumae, in which room is she?"

"Oh, yes, we were expecting you. You are Mrs Shijima? We spoke on the phone. Your daughter is in the West Wing of the 7th floor, room 805. I know you want to go see her, but could you handle us the necessary documents that I asked on the phone? We really need to fill out her file properly. That way the hospital will be able to have access to her medical history. That's very import."

"Yes, of course. We brought what we had with us. Here they are miss" This time it was Enishi who spoke, taking charge of the bureaucracy formalities. That much he could do.

"Thank you. Please, go head, I'll call upstairs to warn the medical team in charge of miss Satsuki's case that you are coming. The head of the team will go talk to you as soon as possible."

"Yes, thank you." Both mother and son said in unison while bowing in sign of gratitude and respect.

They took the elevator to the 7th floor. Visit hours were over, but since they were the closest relatives, they were allowed to go in. And at least one of them could be there at all times. Despite knowing what to expect, neither one of them were prepared to actually see the state she was in. There she was laying in the hospital bed, hooked to all kinds of machinery, bandages covering great part of her torso, her face white as a sheet of paper, unconscious. If it wasn't for the rhythmic sound of her cardiac monitor beeping, one would think she was dead already. Enishi was rooted to the spot, unable to move closer. Madam Manager however released a gasp of surprise (or despair, she wasn't sure anymore) and rushed to her daughter's side. Slowly, carefully, she touched the hand that wasn't hooked to the IV. Her skin was cold, very cold. Again the feeling of dread was squezing painfully hard at her heart. Never in her life had she believed she would live to see this moment. She wasn't supposed to see her daughter laying almost lifeless in a hospital bed. It was unnatural. It should be the other way around. She was an old woman now, she had lived enough, she was the one supposed to be laying in a hospital bed, with death knocking at her door. The pain was too much, she couldn't hold it together anymore. Reaching her hand to move a lock of stray hair out of her daughter's face, she let the tears fall down her cheeks. At that moment she felt strong arms embracing her from behind. Enishi didn't say a word, but he wanted to let his mother know he was there, she wasn't alone. They had to rely on each other for comfort. Because the one who usually raised their spirits in situations like this was the one lying in the hospital bed now, fighting for her life.

"Excuse me? I assume you are miss Satsuki's relatives?" A middle aged man in surgical scrubs was at the door. - "I'm Dr. Tanaka, the doctor in charge of her case. I apologize for my appearance, but I left a surgery I was assisting as soon as I was informed that you were here. "

"There's nothing to apologize for, doctor. " The elderly woman spoke. "Doctor, please tell us. How's my daughter? Is she going to be alright? Is she... going to live?"

"Well, I can't lie to you Ma'am. She's stable right now, but she isn't out of danger yet. He managed to extract the two bullets from her chest and abdomen. Her left lung was perforated with the bone shreds of the ribs that were shattered upon impact of one of the bullets, so we had to hook her to the ventilator to help her breathe. She has also lost a lot of blood. Her condition is delicate but we did everything in our reach to help her, now all there is left to do is to wait and see what happens. Right now she's sleeping because of the anesthesia, but we don't know if she will wake up after it wears off. The next 24 hours will be crucial to determine if she will make it or not. I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to be prepared f-."

"We understand... Thank you doctor". It was Enishi's turn to speak.

"Well then, I need to go back to that surgery now, so if you excuse me..."

"Yes, thank you doctor." Madam Manager and her son both said and bowed to the retreating doctor.

"Enishi, you can go too. Go check yourself in the hotel. I'll stay here tonight."

"But mother, I want to stay too..."

"Don't be ridiculous, only one person is allowed to stay here during the night. So go and come back tomorrow. I'll let you know if something happens".

"Mother..." Enishi sighed in resignation. He knew how stubborn his mother could be, and in a situation like this, there was no way she would back down. - "Alright, but do call me if anything changes... I have to call Beanman [Denroku, the Inn's janitor]. He must be worried."

"Yes, you should do that. But remember, Ohana must not know about this."

"But mother, don't you think she has the right to know?"

"You know as well as I do that she would come running, and hospitals are no place for children. No child should see their parents like this. If the worse comes to worst, I don't want Ohana to remember her mother like this."

"I see. You're right as always, mother... Well then, I'll be going now." With that, Enishi approached his sister bed, bent down to her level and kissed her forehead with tenderness. " - Don't give up sis, we are all waiting for you."

Seeing this scene brought a microscopic smile to Madam Manager's face. Her children had remained close even after being all these years physically apart. She knew that they talked in the phone and sent each other text messages and mails frequently. He often asked for her advice for even the smallest things. She would always tease him but helped him the best she could anyway. Sui had wanted for her son to be a bit more independent from his sister, to grow a bit of a back bone, to stand and face his problems on his own. But at the same time she was glad that they had such strong bond, despite their huge difference in personalities. She would never admit it out loud, much less to them, but she was proud of both of them. He was a crybaby and a wimp but also a loyal and dedicated son. A man with a big gentle heart, just like his father. Satsuki too, they had their differences but she was proud of her daughter greatly. She had managed to raise Ohana well. Often her granddaughter would complain to everyone who would listen that her mother was a terrible parent. Yet Sui knew that Satsuki had done what she did for Ohana's sake. And Ohana was starting to understand that now as well, little by little. She just didn't say it openly either. It was probably the biggest flaw in the women of the Shijima family. They were all too stubborn and proud.

After Enshin left, Madam Manager sat her on the chair at her daughter's bedside. At first she just sat there, looking at Satsuki's pale yet still beautiful face, silently praying for her to open her eyes. After a while, she could no longer stand the silence, and for some reason, she felt like talking. She knew that her daughter probably couldn't hear or understand her, but she talked anyway, about everything and anything. But mostly about Ohana.

"You know, I'm glad you sent Ohana to Kissuiso. Having her there is almost like going back in time, back to the time when you still lived there, with us. She' a lot like you. She's clumsier than you, but her spirit is the same. I'm hard on her, just like I am with everyone, just like I was hard on you, but unlike you, she really likes working there. You know that I've always wanted you to succeed me as Madam Manager. You certainly have the qualities and requirements for it. But you refused. It is not the life you want to lead, and that broke my heart. But now, with Ohana, I have hope. Hope that when she is old enough she will want to take my place. That is why I was happy when you asked her if she wanted to go back to Tokyo with you, to her old life and she refused, saying that her life was at Kissuiso now. And it's true, she's happy there, she enjoys her work, and she has made friends. If anything is missing in her life now, that something is you. She still needs her mother... So don't you dare die on us, you hear me, Satsuki?"

Of course, there was no reply, nothing could be heard but the beeping machines. Suddenly feeling extremely tired, Sui rested her head on the cheap mattress of the hospital bed, and still holding her daughter's hand, she slowly drift off to sleep.

This is my new attemp at writing a fanfic. I'm came to love Hanasaku Iroha, and I've always been bothered by the lack of love and attention that Satsuki's character got from the fans of this anime. So I decided to focus this story on her. Remember, this is only my second fanfic, so go easy on me ^^' Reviews are much appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Family Matters – Chapter 2**

The night was anything but restful, she had woken up several times, startled by nightmares and dreams of past memories. Memories of fights she had had with her daughter. And when it wasn't because of her dreams, it was because of the nurses that would come to check Sastsuki's vital signs and monitor readings. Thankfully the night shift nurse was kind. She had brought her a couple of pillows and a blanket to make her position in that uncomfortable chair a bit more comfortable. And for that she was grateful. She was a somewhat tough old woman, but her aching body would gladly take all the comfort it could get.

Early in the morning Enishi came to visit again. Judging by the dark bags under his eyes, and the blood-shot eyes, she could tell he hadn't had much sleep either. She wouldn't be surprised if he had spent the greater part of the night crying.

"Good morning mother. Here, I've brought you some sweet bread and tea. I'm guessing you haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry."

"Mother, you have to eat, I don't want you to get bedridden as well."

"..." There wasn't much she could reply to that.

"Anyway, mother, how is she? Any change?"

"The doctor came to check on her just before you arrived. He says nothing has changed. But that is suppose to be a good thing. The fact that she survived the night is already a small victory."

"... I understand."

"Mother, you should go to the hotel. You need to eat something, take a bath and rest for a few hours. I'll stay with her."

"No. I want to be here if she wakes up."

"Please, mother. Listen to me just this once. Go rest. I'll let you know if she wakes up. Besides, she would want you to take care of your body. She worries for you too, you know?"

She was unable to find an argument to contradict his Enishi's logic. He was right. Her daughter and her might have been in bad terms, but she knew her daughter would always worry for her well being. She remembered one of times she fallen sick again and had been forced to be hospitalized, Denroku had told her that Enishi secretely called Satsuki to give her the news about their mother. And apparently she had called everyday, more than once, to know how their mother was. That made her happy, of course. But what made her even happier was that she would also call to know how the Kissuiso was going. It was no secret that the Inn's finances weren't going well, so she often called, often giving advices and ideas to Enishi. She might not have wanted to take her mother's position as Madam Manager, but she still cared about Kissuiso. It was the place where she had grew up, her home. It was only natural for her to still care about it and the people that depend on it.

"Fine. I'll go. But I'll be back in a few hours. In the meantime, if anything happens – and I mean anything – call me at once."

"I will mother, don't worry."

"That's impossible. Of course I will worry."

"..Yeah, I know. Sorry..." He gave his mother a small smile.

The rest of the day went with no change. After a few hours Sui came back and both stayed at Satsuki's side in comfortable silence. The doctor had come in the end of the afternoon to check on her again. The 24 hours period since the surgery was almost up. He said that if she survived the second night, and if she remained stable, in the morning they would try taking her off the ventilator, to see if she could breathe on her own.

Around dinner time – for the other patients at least – Enishi's phone rang. And to his surprise it wasn't either Denroku or Takako. It was Takashi Sato*, Ohana's homeroom teacher. He and Enishi were friends since they were kids. There was a slight age difference between them, Takashi was a few years older but a common interest had brought them together as close friends, Satsuki. The Literature teacher had once had a huge crush on her. In fact, they use to date during high school. Despite the though competition, he had managed to win Satsuki's heart. But it didn't last beyond that. After graduating high school both went separate ways, to study in different universities. As far as Enishi knew they hadn't kept contact.

"Excuse me mother, I'll take this call outside." With that Enishi left the hospital room and went to a more deserted part of that hospital floor.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Enishi, it's me, Takashi."

"Hey! I'm surprised you called. You don't do that very often except when you want a driking buddy. If you are calling to invite me to go drinking tonight, sorry but I can't. I'm in Tokyo."

"I know... I heard you had left suddenly with your mother in tow. This is a small town, you know that news travel fast around here".

"Y..yeah, that's true." Enishi hesitated. He didn't know if he liked where this conversation was leading to. "So if you know, why are you calling then?"

Well, you see, I ran into Takako yesterday and she told me you had come to Tokyo because of an family emergency. And since the only family you have in Tokyo is Satsuki, it didn't took me much to figure out that something had happened to her. Am I wrong?"

"Y-yeah, you're right. But please don't mention this to anyone, and specially not to Ohana. She doesn't know yet."

"Ok, I won't say a word, but what the hell happened? What is the family emergency?"

"I guess I can tell you... My sister is in the hospital, she was shot during a robbery gone wrong."

"What?, Seriously?"

"Yeah. They removed the bullets but she is still in critical condition. She's ventilated, and she didn't wake up yet."

"..."

"Hello, Takashi, are you still there?

"Yes... I'm here."

"Yeah, it's a big shock, isn't it? I still can't believe that my sister, the strongest person I know, is in a hospital bed fighting for her life".

"Yeah..., it's … unthinkable."

"You sound really down. I didn't know you still cared for my sister that much..."

"How can I not care? You know how much I loved her when we were together, you were there, you saw."

"Yeah, but it has been a long time."

"I know. I guess part of me still loves her. Although we are complete strangers now. "

"You two could at least have kept contact, as friends."

"We tried, but it didn't work."

"Really? How come?"

"We did mailed [as in, with real letters – back then phone text messages were not a thing yet] each other. Just small talk. We traded information about each other's campus life, and that was it."

"Then why did you two stopped communicating?"

"Well, I guess there is no harm in telling you now... Throughout the years of our university life, whenever we had a break from school and came back home to visit our families, we would run into each other. We talked some more, went out for drinks as friends, but let's just say, it didn't worked out. One thing led to the other and before we knew it we were doing it..."

"Doing it?"

"Yeah man, are you dense? Sex. We had sex. "

"Oh... But that doesn't explain why you didn't kept contact afterwards."

"Man, do I need to explain everything to you? As I said, we had sex and I don't mean just once. We did it every we would meet, almost every day of our vacations before the breaks would be over. When we would leave to campus again, we would go back to the casual letters exchange. I guess you can say we were in a long distance relationship of sorts, because when we came back for the next break, we would be all over each other again, but always in secret."

"I see, so there was still something between you guys. But why did it end?"

"Why? Well because I'm a fool that's why. During the summer break of our last year as university students, I confessed to her again. I said I still loved her, that it meant more than just sex for me."

"Let me guess, she didn't reciprocate your feelings and dumped you".

"Yeah, something like that. She told me she liked me, but didn't love me. That for her we were just fooling around, having fun."

"That must have been tough".

"Yeah, tell me about it. After that she stopped replying to my letters. She would ignore any attempt I made to contact her. But it's no surprised she didn't want to talk to me. After all, she must have been really busy with her boyfriend at the time."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? She got married near graduation. That probably mean that all that time, she already had a boyfriend in Tokyo. I was just a toy to have fun during her vacations."

"Well, if it is of any consolation to you, she only got married because she got pregnant. She once told me that her husband was a good guy, but they weren't in love".

"That is of no consolation at all..."

"Er... Yeah, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. That is all in the past now. Just because she dumped me that doesn't mean I won't care about her. So please, call when there are any changes on her condition"

"I will, promise."

"Thanks. And you? How are you holding up?"

"Me? I'm managing somehow. I feel that I'm about to break down any minute, but seeing my mother so unlike her, so fragile, I don't know... I just feel that I have to be strong for both of us. I have to be a man. My father he would know what to do or say in a situation like this but he's gone. I'm not like him, but I have to at least try to fill his shoes."

"Yeah. Do your best, Enishi. You can't be that crybaby that you were when we were kids anymore. Your mother needs you".

"Exactly. But it's tough."

I know.

"..."

"..."

"Well man, I have to go. You take care."

"Thanks, you too. "

"Ok. Beye."

"Beye".

Enishi sighed. That had been one long conversation. He was surprised that his friend was still somehow not over Satsuki. If he had been over her, we would not have cared so much. And he definitely would not have told what had happened in the past with such sorrow in his voice. Enishi wondered if that was the reason why his friend was still single and was in no serious relationship. After all Takashi was – dare he say it – a handsome, decent guy with a stable job. And in a town that small, it wouldn't have been that difficult to find someone good enough to marry. Now that he was thinking about it, his friend had been engaged to marry once, but it had never gone past that. As far as he knew, Takashi didn't even dated the so called bride to be. It had been nothing more than an arrangement set up by both families. Something still very common in small towns like theirs. But Takashi had refused the whole thing on the spot once he found out about it. Enishi had not know at the time, but now the reason was rather obvious. His friend was still in love with Satsuki back then. This engagement had been set up around the time of his third year as university student or so.

"Wait a minute, could it be?" A sudden idea appeared in his head. What if his sister had reject Takashi's feelings because she had heard about the engagement? It would make sense... If it was true, then destiny was really cruel."

"When she gets out of this, I'll have to question her about it."

Enishi was suddenly in a better mood. The prospect of playing match maker was giving a sense of excitement. Well, he knew that it had all happened a long time ago. Even if that was the real reason why she dumped him, that doesn't mean that she would feel anything for him now. Heck, apparently she got over him pretty soon, even getting a new boyfriend, pregnant and then married and such. Not to mention the several boyfriends she had over the years after her husband's death. Still, it would be fun to tease her about it. He had never been the one teasing, always the teased".

"You took your sweet time. Were you on the phone all this time?"

"Yes, mother. Sorry about that. I was talking to my friend, Takashi Sato. He found out that something had happened to sis and called to know more."

"He found out? How? Don't tell me Ohana already knows too?"

"No, she doesn't know. Don't worry. He kinda found out by himself, no one told him."

"I bet that Takako woman has something to do with this, hasn't she?

"She only confirmed it was a family emergency. She didn't tell him anything else."

"Mm."

"So, what did you talked about for so long?"

"Well, I told him about sister's condition, of course. But most of the time we spent talking about the past, of the time when he and sis dated."

"I see."

"..."

" I was waiting for you to return to go the restroom, so excuse me."

After that the Shijima matriarch left the room. Enishi sat in the chair she left vacant and in a whispered but playful tone talked to his unconscious sister. " - Sis, you really have to wake up soon. I've learn some interesting things about your past, your love life to be more precise, and I'm itching to question you about it. It will feel good to be the one teasing you for a change".

**Author's Note:**

* As far as I know, Ohana's teacher is still namess in the anime. And I couldn't find his name in any of the character's name lists I had access to either. So I had to come up with a name for him. Choosing names aren't my thing so I just pick a first and last name from lists of the most common names. Sorry if it is a lame name.

On a second note, I would like to point out that I had the idea for this story, and most of the plot before it was revealed that Ohana's late father was Satsuki's "big one-sided crush". So this story won't follow in that direction. The same goes for the other characters. As you may know,[SPOILER] Enishi and Takako married in the recent episodes. But in this story there are still only dating. Ah, and why having Ohana's teacher was Satsuki's old flame? Simply because he was the only male character in the anime that I could use XD Unless you would like to see a crack paring like Mr. Ren x Satsuki (oh, weird image) . Besides, the teacher guy seems to be pretty funny (and therefore a good match for Satsuki).

Also, I know that this chapter is rather short. I do have plent of more story already written. But I still have to make some adjustments, and it would make more sense to stop here. There is nothing much happening here, but it's still important stuff.

Anyway, I'll try to update soon. As always, read and review, thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Family Matters – Chapter 3**

Morning came. And despite the fact that Satsuki was still in a comatose state, the doctor had decided to take her out of the ventilator. It was the moment of truth. If she were to keep breathing on her own, they would finally be able to take a breath of relief, even if just for a bit.

The anxiety in the room was almost touchable. Enishi and Madam Manager stood at the feet of the hospital bed, while the doctor and a nurse were making the necessary preparations to turn off the ventilator. With the push of a button the machine stopped. For a few seconds everyone in the room didn't dare to move. Everyone was looking at Satsuki's chest, trying to see if it was rising and falling by itself. To their joy and relief, it did. She was breathing on her own. Enishi couldn't help but to give an awkward hug to his mother. She allowed it for a few moments (herself basking in the comfort that the hug provided) but quickly she cleared her throat, the obvious warning for him to stop with the embarrassing scene. The doctor proceeded with removing the tube that was down Satsuki's throat. She wouldn't be needing it anymore.

" - Ok, now we just have to wait for her to wake up. Miss Satsuki appears to be healing well and there is no signs of post-op complications so far. He will keep the oxygen on, just to make sure she getting enough oxygen to her brain. But we will remove that too, when she wakes up."

- "And when could that be, doctor?"

"It's impossible to say, ma'am. It can be today, tomorrow, next week, next month... we can never know with coma patients."

"But doctor, why is she in a coma, exactly? I don't understand." Enishi voiced the doubt that was bothering for a while now.

"Well sir, we did some tests and brain scans, and we didn't see any kind of brain damage. But it's not unusual for trauma patients to enter in a coma-like state when there's a big blood loss, like in her case. The massive blood loss caused a insufficiency of oxygen being taken to the brain. There was no permanent damage to the brain, but it will take a while for brain function to be restore to normal levels. But I expect a fast recovery. Miss Satsuki is a healthy woman, her medical history and all the tests we did on her say so, so we have to believe that she will wake up soon."

"I see. Thanks for being so patient and explain all that to us, doctor."

"There's no need to thank me. It's part of my job. Well now, if you don't have any more questions, I'll take my leave. I need to continue my rounds."

"Yes, of course doctor. Again, thank you for everything you have done for my sister, doctor." Enishi said sincerely while bowing in gratitude and respect.

"Ok then. Ma'am, sir, good day." With those words the doctor left the room.

"What about you, mother? You should go too. Rest for tonight. I'll stay."

"I think I'll do that. Now that she is off the ventilator I think I can sleep better tonight. But don't hesitate to call if she wakes up."

"I will mother, don't worry."

"I'll be going then."

"Mother ?"

"What is it?"

"Don't worry about sis. Knowing her she's will wake up soon, and she will be mocking us for worrying so much before we know it."

For a moment Sui was surprised because her son seemed truly convinced of what he had just said. He wasn't just trying to reassure her or himself, he really was optimistic about it. He believed in Satsuki's strength and will power.

"Yes, you're right. She will definitely do that when she wakes up" She glanced at her daughter's still sleeping form and smiled. She still had a lot of tubes and monitors hooked up to her, but her face had regained some of its natural color. She looked healthier. The thought that her beloved daughter was going to live was finally settling in. Now it would be just a matter of time until she awakes.

Some time passed since Madam Manager had left, Enishi had kept himself occupied reading the news on the newspaper, siting at his sister bedside. It was the newspaper where his sister worked for as freelancer writer, on occasion [AN: I'm assuming that inn and hotel critic is not her only job here]. And they had wrote a one page article about her incident. Its title read "Woman shot twice after being robbed". The rest of the article mentioned all the details. The suspect was still at large, but he had already been identified thanks to surveillance cameras situated all around the crime scene. It was a commercial area, several stores had surveillance, including the ATM machine where she had made an withdraw immediately before she was robbed and shot, left to die on the pavement. Enshin couldn't help but still being surprised with what humans could do for money. Was it really worth to kill another human being for 5000 Y?[ +/- 65 USD] Apparently it was, in the twisted mind of that bastard that had shot his sister. The article also mentioned that the surveillance cameras showed the victim resisting, which lead to the shooting. That surprised him, his sister was smarter than that. Why would she resist? She was tenacious yes, but she knew it was not worth risking her life for money, it wasn't even that much of a big amount either. But the articled quickly cleared that out too. "Footage of the surveillance cameras show that the victim was not trying to hold onto her money. Apparently what she was trying to keep a hold off appeared to be photos or documents of some kind. And to her credit, she manage to save at least one." He remembered his mother mentioning that the hospital had managed to contact the Inn thanks to a postcard she had with her at the time she was brought to the ER. "What was so important about that postcard, sis?" he said to himself. He should ask at the reception desk about it. He would do that later though. He was not about to risk her waking up exactly when he wasn't there. His mother would kill him, That's for sure.

Next morning Sui came back around 9 am. She had overslept but it couldn't be helped. She had slept so well now that the shadow of death was no longer hovering over her daughter's head. She was still in a coma, though. But the doctor had said, after the morning routine check up, that her vitals were stronger. She could be waking up any moment.

Now Sui was alone in the bedroom with her daughter. Enishi had left to grab something to eat at the hospital cafeteria. But then two nurses came in, with towels and a basin full of water and a sponge. It was time for Satsuki's sponge bath.

- "Ma'am, do you want to be the one to bath her?" One of the nurses asked. It was not unusual to be the family members to bath the patients.

"Yes, please". She didn't need to be asked twice.

"Alright ma'am. We will leave to give you some privacy but if you need any help, just press the call button and we will come immediately.

"Yes. Thank you."

The nurses left and Sui started to gently caress her daughter's face with the damp sponge in smooth circular motions. She noticed that her skin was no longer cold to the touch as it had been when she first saw her in that hospital bed. Now it felt warm in a natural way, not feverish. It was the warmth that proved Satsuki was alive. Then she proceeded to wash the neck, shoulders and chest area, all the while being carefully not to wet the bandages. After that was done she moved to the arms and legs. It had been a long time since she had seen her daughter's exposed body. But she was still as beautiful as she remembered. Why had she not remarried yet was still a mystery to her. Well, Satsuki's had always been a free spirit, not easily bound to one place or person. That was one of the traits of her personality that seem to attract men to her, like flies to honey.

She was about to finish the sponge bath but decided to wash the palms of Satsuki's hands and between the fingers again. She did so slowly, gently. Putting all the love and care she felt for her daughter on that simple action. Suddenly she felt more than saw a twitch of the fingers. She remembered the doctor saying that things like fingers twitching were normal in coma patients. Those were instinctive moments. They didn't mean necessarily that the patient was about to regain consciousness. So she tried to ignore it. It was not good to her heart to create false hopes like that. She moved to the other hand, and there it was again, but this time it felt more like a slight tug. But yet again, she refused to raise her hopes. It was an unconscious movement. Nothing more, nothing less, she told herself. She then picked up the basin of water to take it to the small linen cart that the nurses had left outside the room.

"Mother?"

Sui dropped the basin of water, creating a big splashing sound and a significantly large puddle of water all over the flow. That voice... It was horse for lack of use but she would recognize it anywhere. In a slow-motion like manner she turned to face the bed. Right there, staring right back at her was her daughter. Eyes semi-opened, still trying to adjust to the light of the morning sun entering the room from the hospital window, but they were open. Open and with that tiny spark she was used to see in them. For a moment she couldn't move or say anything, still too stunned to react.

"Mother, I brought you some green t-"

Enishi had chose that moment to arrive, at first confused as to why was his mother standing in the middle of the room like a statue. Then he saw the wet flow and the basin turned upside down somewhere close to the door. Something must have happened to startle his mother that much.

"Mother, are you alright? What's wrong?"

"…" Sui was unable to utter a word.

"Enishi..."

Now it was Enishi's turn to be stunned. His head snapped in the direction of that familiar voice. He did it so quickly that he could have pulled something.

"Sis... you... you are awake!"

"I guess so... What happened? Where am I? And why are you two here?

Enishi quickly moved to his sister side. His mother however was still not believing this was truly happening. Her hands had moved to her mouth to muffle a gasp, her eyes were filing with tears of joy, but her legs still refused to move.

"Take it easy sis. I'll answer to all your questions. But tell me, how are you feeling?

"Like a took a beating... my body aches all over."

"Well, it was worse than that. Don't you remember? You were robbed near an ATM, downtown Tokyo. You resisted, the guy took a shot at you, twice."

"Ahh- It's all starting to come back now. I remember struggling with that prick, then I heard the shots and immediately everything went black."

"Yeah, you were unconscious when they brought you into the ER. You underwent surgery to extract the bullets, but stayed unconscious for almost three days. You had us really worried sis"

"Oh, you were worried about your beloved sister, little brother? You shouldn't have. I'm tough as nails, you should know that better than anyone."

A soft laughing sound was heard. Both siblings looked in the direction where it had come from and to their surprise, it was coming from their mother. Neither of them could remember the last time they had heard their mother laugh like that.

"What's so funny, mother?"Asked Enishi in bewilderment at his mother's uncharacteristic behavior.

"You were right, Enishi. Teasing you for worry about her was really the first thing she did after waking up", she said almost between what could be described as giggles.

Enishi smiled. Not only because he had been right, but more because it felt so good to hear his mother laughing like that. But that was to be expected. Satsuki had come out of the coma so she was feeling relieved and incredibly happy, just what he was feeling as well. Satsuki proceed to laugh as well, but quickly stopped, grimacing in pain.

"You need to be careful sis, you were shot, remember? If you move to much the stitches will open up."

"Yeah, yeah, and the pain feels great too..." There she was with her sarcastic joking again. Only she could do that in state she was.

"I'm going to find the doctor and tell him that you are awake. I think he will want to check you up and talk to you. You two behave" And with that Enishi left the room, leaving the two woman of the Shijima family alone.

"So mother, did I gave you a few more gray hairs?"

"They have all turned gray because of you a long time ago."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. By the way, how's Ohana doing? Does she know what happened?"

"No. We didn't want to tell her before we knew you were out of danger."

"I see... But she will be pissed when she finds out. She doesn't like to be kept in the dark."

"True, just like someone I know".

"You aren't one to talk mother".

Mother and daughter were back to the playful bickering. That was how they acted around each other when not seriously fighting.

"Thank you." Satsuki's tone of voice signalized that she was being serious now.

"For what?" replied Sui equally serious.

"For being here, for caring... I know I'm not the daughter you wished I was, but I do love you, mother."

"Mm, I know..." She came closer to the bed and took her daughter's good hand (the other was hooked to the IV) in hers and smiled at her.

"I love you too. I love you because you are my daughter, nothing will ever change that, no matter what happens. Never forget that."

Satsuki could only nod. The power of the emotions generated by those words that was flooding her was almost too much for her to handle. She didn't know if this meant their true reconciliation, probably they would go back to being at each others throats pretty soon. That was just how they were. But for now she would enjoy this extremely out of character and rare moment.

The moment was interrupted by the doctor's arrival. We quickly introduced himself, welcomed her back to the "world of the living" as he had jokingly put it, and proceeded to explain to her how had the surgery went, what the real extent of damage to her body was, what was the next steps of the treatment and all the other little details that would be import to assure a fast recovery. By lunch time, Madam Manager and Enichi could do nothing more than just stare with their mouths hanging open as they witnessed Satsuji eating. She ate like she hadn't done so in days, which was true, but it was still rather impressive sight. Seeing her with such big appetite only brought bigger smiles to their faces. She would recover really fast, there was no doubt about that now.

After lunch two police detectives dropped by. They questioned her for anything that could be used in the investigation - which wasn't much - wished her a quickly recovery and left.

"I think I'm going to call home. Beanman must be worried. Takato too. And I guess now it's safe to tell Ohana, right?"

"No, don't tell her just yet."

"Uh? Why not?

"I want to surprise her"

"Eh? Surprise her? Sis, I don't think she will like that kind of surprise."

"It's ok, don't worry. If she gets mad it will be at me. I'm used to it so it's fine."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Mother convinced me – well more like forced me – to stay a few days at the Inn, after I'm discharged from the hospital. Besides, there is no better place like the countryside to recover back to full health. My lungs surely will be thankful for that. Besides, I don't want her to see me stuck in a hospital bed. It would be bad for my image as the bad-ass mom. That's the only thing she thinks is cool about me, I want to keep it that way."

"You're too much, sis. You know that don't you?

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now sush. Don't say a word to her, ok?"

"Alright. I won't say a word. I don't want to suffer the consequences of your punishment anyway." They both smiled at his comment. Both knew it was true. There would be a punishment if he didn't kept his mouth shut.

"Ok then, I'll make the phone calls outside. Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"Yeah, a pack of cigarettes. I would kill for a smoke right now"

"Yeah, forget it. It's not gonna happen. Where did that talk about your lungs needing fresh air went to anyway? You really are too much".

"Oh, yeah... You're right. Eheheh, I forgot. Oops!"

"How can you forget that? Seriously?"

"Don't make such a big fuss, bro. And go make those phone calls already. Don't keep your sweet Takako in the dark."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going."

Enishi left the room and went to the ground floor, where the hospital reception was. He needed a phone. In the haste of the moment he had forgotten to pack his phone charger and it was out of battery now. He used the pay phones, first to call his beloved Takako. She was the one he wanted to share the good news with first. She was happy with the good news of course. She may not like Satsuki much (she was jealous of her) but she knew how important she was for him and his family. As he had once told her, Satsuki was bright as the sun, and if she were to die, he would fall in complete darkness, maybe to never return to the light. And Takako was no insensible monster either, as many thought she was. She cared, of course she did.

Enishi left her in charge of giving the good news to Beanman but to keep it secret from Ohana and the others still. She had been confused, but she agreed to it nonetheless.

The next person he was going to call, he knew, was going to be extremely relieved and happy about the good news as well.

"Hello, Takashi?"

"Yes?"

"It's me, Enishi"

"Oh, hey buddy! I'm assuming you are calling because you have news."

"Yeah, and it's great ones too!"

"Really? Don't tell me, Satsuky woke up?"

"Yes, and she's back to being the good old Satsuki that we know and love."

"That's great. I'm happy to hear that."

"Yeah, I can image. You were really worried, weren't you?"

"What if I was, is that a problem?

"No, no problem at all. It's good that you are being honest with yourself."

"Shut up, will you?"

"Easy, easy. I'm just teasing you. Anyway, there are more good news"

"More? What do you mean?"

"She will be coming home after being discharged from the hospital. There is no better place than our home to recover back to full health."

"Oh... I see. You must be really happy to be able to spend more time with your sister again."

"Yeah. Aren't you? You could visit her. I think she would like to see some old friends"

"Yeah, maybe."

"You don't sound very convinced."

"What did you expect, that I would jump for joy?"

"Er... yeah, something like that."

"Listen, I'm glad she's better now. But I don't think seeing each other would be such a good idea. It would be too weird and awkward, at least for me."

"But you could still visit, not as friend or as a ex-boyfriend, but as Ohana's homeroom teacher. It is normal for a homeroom teacher to get involved with his students problems and family matters, is it not?"

"I guess..."

Well then, you should definitely pay us a visit when she gets back."

"I'll think about it".

"Please do. Well, I have to go, I'm running out of coins here, ehehehe. Bye, take care."

"You too".

Now Enishi had no more doubts about it. His friend was still not over Satsuki. Otherwise we would have no problems in visiting her. He was afraid. Of what exactly, he did not know. Perhaps he was afraid of being treated politely but coldly, as if he was only a face from the past, a long lost childhood friend that now was nothing more than a stranger? Or maybe he was afraid of not being able to hide his feelings... Any of these scenarios was possible. Now Enishi really couldn't wait for his sister to be released from the hospital. He was excited.

He was about to go back to the room, but he remembered wanting to ask about the postcard. He really wanted to see what was so important about it. Besides, if it was important, he wanted to be the one to return it to his sister. At least for once he would be the hero in her eyes, or so he hoped. So he asked the lady from the reception desk about it.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Ye- Oh, it's you sir. Judging by your smile I take it that your sister is better now?"

" Yes, she woke up this morning. I'm still walking on air of so happy I am."

"I can imagine sir. So, did you need something?"

"Yes, yes I do. I was hoping you could give me that postcard that lead you to call our Inn? The one that my sister was holding when she got here"

"Yes, of course. Give me just a minute... You will have to sign this form here. It's nothing of real value but it's protocol when dealing with patient possessions, even if it's non-important stuff like this."

"Of course, I understand. Although I wouldn't say it was not important. For my sister to fight so ferociously to keep it, it must have a great sentimental value."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Anyway sir, here it is. It's under your responsibility now."

"I'll take good care of it, don't worry."

"I'm sure you will."

If he were a bit more good looking, he would swear that the receptionist was flirting with him. But he was not the kind of man to get flirted with... Heck, he had to chase after Takako for years to win her over. Besides, if she knew he had tried to flirt with other women, she would castrate him, he was sure of that. Well, on the bright side, that probably meant she really liked him, right?

"Anyway, I must stop daydreaming. Let's see what's so important about this post card."

It was an old postcard. It was worn out by time and use. She probably kept it in her purse at all times. They had sold many of these back in the old days, when the Inn was always bustling with costumers. It didn't had a postal print or stamp. So it meant it had never been sent. But it had plenty of writing. There was so much of it that he had trouble reading the tiny characters. But he recognized the handwriting. It was Satsuki's no doubt about that. It didn't had a receiver name or address (she had actually used that space to write some more). Now he was really curious. Why would his sister write a postcard to someone if she didn't intend on sending it? And it had to be really important, otherwise she wouldn't cherish it to the point of risking her life for it. He really had no other choice but to read the postcard if he wanted to solve this mystery. He didn't liked the idea of violating his sister's privacy like this, but he couldn't help it. His curiosity was too great. He searched for a place where he could read it without being disturbed and started reading it.

"Dear Takashi"

He was in for a good start. The postcard was meant for his teacher friend, Takashi. Her ex-boyfriend. Now there really was no way he could have stopped reading.

"You must be wondering why I'm writing you this postcard, in this day and age. One would assume it would be easier to just pick the phone and call you. But that's not true. I would never be able to do that and tell you what I'm about to tell. I'm writing this here because I don't plan to ever send it to you. It's doesn't make sense, does it? But I thought this was a good way of revealing this secret without actually doing it. I never told it to anyone else before. I couldn't do it. But I'm suffocating... I hope that with this, I'll ease my heavy conscience, even if just a bit. Plus, I plan to carry this with me at all times. It will be a reminder of my sins, of my mistakes. That reminder will be my punishment. But let me get to the point, otherwise I'll run out of space to write. I'll start from the beginning. Remember the time when I dumped you? I didn't do it because I didn't feel the same about you. Quite the opposite. I loved you, so much... That was why I had to let you go. The thing is, I knew you had been promised to marry that other girl. But I didn't doubt your feelings, if that's what your thinking. I simply knew that she could make you happy in ways that I couldn't. She had all the qualities you would want in a wife. And at the time I didn't even considered the possibility of ever getting married. I didn't want to be someone else's wife. I wanted to live my own life. And you, you wanted the opposite. You wanted to graduate, to find a comfortable job, to get married with a good woman, to make a kid or two and have a simple life, there in our small hometown. But I couldn't see that as the life for me. So it wasn't fair to keep you at my side, if I couldn't give you the future you wanted. That other girl could. You didn't know I knew about the arranged engagement which made things a lot easier for me. But letting you go was the most difficult and painful thing I did in my life up until this day... But this is only part of the secret. The worst part is still yet to come. You know that I got married because I got knocked up in the last year of college. And that's true. What you don't know is that my husband was not the father of the baby. You were. You are Ohana's biological father... When I found out I was pregnant, you already had your wedding date settled. There was no way I would come back into your life and ruin it. My husband, he was a colleague who had been trying to win me over ever since we met. But I had always turned him down. My heart belonged to you, even if we were officially over. But when he found out I was pregnant he offered himself to recognize the child as his own. To marry me and give my baby his name... I declined his offer at first, but I had to think of my child's future. Ohana would suffer if she were to grew up as a bastard child, a daughter of a single mother. So I did what was best for her and accepted to marry him. I hoped that one day, when she was older, I could tell her about you. And if she wished do so, I hoped that you two could meet, as father and daughter. I know now that your marriage never came to happen. But at the time, because I had cut all ties with my family and hometown I didn't found out about it in time. I was already married and Ohana was already a few months old when I found out. It was too late. My husband had became her father, I couldn't take that away from him. More time passed and Ohana was little more than 1 year old when my husband died suddenly. But by then I had lost all courage of telling you the truth. That's why I'm writing this. It's my way of telling the truth. It's not good enough, but that's ok. I've already come to terms with my decision. I know I'll burn in hell for what I did and for what I couldn't do. Now I think I'll never be able to tell Ohana the truth. She would hate me even more than she already does. I'm not a very good mother, you see. By the way, she may look like me, but she has a lot of you in her. Her smile, her gentle nature, even her sensible nose, she took all that from you... I love her so much, she's the only thing I could never regret having made. She's the fruit of our love, a piece of you that I can love, for as long as I live.

There is so much I want to tell you but I guess that too will forever remain unsaid.

This is goodbye my love, I wish you all the best, I wish you can have the life you always wanted. Take care."

The last lines were difficult to read but he managed somehow. The handwriting was shaky, and getting smaller and smaller by the line because she had been forced to save even more space so she could finish the message. There were some blurred letters as well, the sign that she had been crying when she was writing that. Not that he could blame her. He himself was in tears, just by reading that. He had never imaged that behind those playful smiles, and teasing attitude of his sister she was hiding such painful secret and strong feelings. He admired her now even more than he already did before reading that postcard, if it was even possible. She had made mistakes, serious ones too, but she did it all for love. Love for her daughter, love for the man who had stolen her heart. And she had only meant to give the best to both of them. Or at least what she thought it was the best. There was no doubt in his mind, his sister was a great woman.

For now, he would not reveal that he knew her secret. Maybe he would probe a little about Takashi, to see if she would let something show, some lingering feelings. Maybe he could bring his name up, and mention that he was Ohana's homeroom teach. Such irony of the destiny would definitely catch her by surprise. Maybe she would open up to him a little. But for now, he would keep this postcard in a safe place. Such preciosity could not be lost. It _was_ indeed important, and he now understood why she would risk her life to keep it. It symbolized a big and significant part of her life after all. With that resolve in mind, he put the postcard inside his jacket's interior pocket. He would find a safer place for it later. If his sister asked about it, he would think of something as excuse. He had to buy some time, at least until he could arrange a meeting between Satsuki and Takashi. Still, right now, the most important thing was to focus on his beloved sister full recovery.

xxx~~~~xxxx~~~~xxxx

**I hope you liked this chapter. At least it is longer than the previous one. More to come soon (or so I hope). **

**Reviews are constructive criticism is much appreciated ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Hello there, folks. Sorry for the late update. It's been months I know. And I seriously doubt if anyone is still following this. I at least am angry at myself for taking so long to update this story. Even more so because this chapter was already written when I post chapter 3 – I didn't post this sooner because I wanted to be a bit more ahead in the story before I so. Just in case I needed to go back and make some changes. Also, in my defense, I've been busy with real life stuff, and suffering from a bad case of lazyness. Anyway, read away.

**Disclaimer:** This is purely fan made, no profit will be made out if this. I don't hold the rights to Hanasaku Iroha or any of its characters.

**Family Matters – Chapter 4**

The following days went by quickly, now that Satsuki was doing better by the hour. The days were filled with her laughter, since her only form of entertainment was annoying and teasing her little brother, mostly about Takako and their love life (or lack of it). Sui only watched from the side, as always not getting involved in their antics. But all three of them also talked about Ohana and all the little adventures she had got herself into ever since she started working at Kissuiso.

Ohana appeared to be genuinely happy with her new life, despite the rough start and Satsuki was happy knowing that. She knew it hadn't been a bad decision to send Ohana to be under the care of her mother. Ohana would be happier at Kissuiso than what she was in Tokyo. But being apart from her daughter for so long was difficult to bear. It had been always just the two of them. None of her boyfriends had come close to become part of the family. Still, she knew that it had been for the best. The day for Ohana to meet the rest of the Shijima family had been long overdue. She regretted that her late father had never had the change of meeting his granddaughter, and she wasn't about to risk the same thing happening to her mother, who wasn't getting any younger. Ohana shouldn't suffer because her mistakes either. But Satsuki felt lonely being all by herself in Tokyo. She had thought of asking Ohana if she wanted to come back, but when she visit Kissuiso she saw that Ohana wouldn't want to go back to live in Tokyo. She had started a new and happier life at Kissuiso. She didn't had the right to take that away from her daughter, so she went back to Tokyo alone and resigned. But now that this had happened, she pondered the possibility of leaving Tokyo as well. The only thing still keeping her there was her job. She liked her job, but it was not as important now as it had been in the past. Her priorities had changed. But could she really go back to her hometown for good? Wasn't it too late? She didn't know. Maybe time would tell, but for now, she was going back home, if only for a few days.

Every employee at Kissuiso had been in a frenzy with the preparations to receive the surprise guest that Madam Manager and the Young Master had said would be arriving that day. They had been told to prepare the empty room that was situated in the wing reserved for in-house employees and the Madam Manager and Enishi's rooms. Everyone was surprised, even Tomoe had never seen that room in particular being used in all the years she had worked there.

- "This mysterious guest must be someone really important. Or it's a friend of the family, maybe." commented Tomoe, the head waitress of the Inn.

All members of the staff were reunited in the staff break room. Miss Takato and Beanman stayed silent. They had been told to keep the secrecy until the very end. When the true identity of the guest were to be revealed, they knew that the shock would be plastered in everyone's faces. Not only Satsuki was coming to stay at Kissuiso so soon after her last visit, but also she was going to be there as a member of the Shijima family and not as a common guest. But the most shocking revelation would be for sure the reason that brought her there. Ohana would be particularly affected of course. How would she react to the news that her mother had been in the verge of dying? Well, they were about to find out. The car which was carrying "the mysterious guest" was arriving. But the black-tinted windows of the taxi helped to keep the mystery until the last second.

From the front passenger seat came out Enishi, who quickly opened the door of the back seat from the same side. The staff members frowned in disappointment when they saw that the next person who came out from the car was "just" Madam Manager. The cab driver busied himself unloading the luggage from the trunk while Madam Manager and Enishi both went to the other side of the car to assist whoever the mysterious guest was to get out of the car. Everyone wondered if the person was someone of old age, who couldn't even get out of the car without assistance. They all were holding their breaths, watching the gentle way Enishi was speaking.

- "Easy, don't move too fast. Hold on to me".

A pair of slim legs and feet on flat shoes were seen stepping out of the car. And then, with the assistance of a gentle pull from Enishi, the person rose to her feet. A gasp of shock was heard. As expected, Ohana was the first one to react.

- "Mom?"

Satsuki looked directly to her daughter with a happy grin in her face. Her plan to surprise her daughter had been a success.

- "Hey Ohana. I've come to annoy you for a few more days. I hope you don't mind."

- "What are you d-"

Ohana 's question got cut in her throat when she noticed Enishi putting his arm around her mother's back to help her support her own weight. Something was wrong with her mother.

- "Mom, what's wrong? Why can't you barely move?"

Ohana was a bit scared... She had never seen her mother so debilitated. She had always been a very healthy person and rarely got sick. Even on the rare occasions she got a cold she would still drag herself to work.

- "Oh, this? Don't worry, it's just a few injuries. Nothing to worry about".

- "Injuries, what kind of injuries? Mom what are you hiding?"

- "Really, I'm not hid-"

- "She was shot, twice." Madam Manager interrupted. "She has been in the hospital during all this time we were in Tokyo."

"What? Why wasn't I told of this before?"

- "Ohana, calm down. I'm fine now."

- "But you were very close to dying" This time was Enishi's turn to interrupt. "So don't pretend it was nothing. Ohana has the right to know she almost lost her mother."

Ohana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother had almost died? It was that serious. Tears started to well up in her eyes, the realization that she could have been orphan of mother right now overwhelming her. In seconds Ohana flew into her mother's arms, hugging her for dear life, forgetting that she was wounded.

- "Ouch, Ohana not so tight."

- "Ohana, you are hurting her" warned Sui, which was enough for Ohana releasing the strong grip she had on her mother, and tried to pull away. But this time it was her mother who hugged her close.

- "It's ok Ohana, I'm alright now. Now stop with those tears. You should know that it takes more than two bullets to bring me down." She smiled, because her words only made Ohana cry harder, but this time with what seemed to be laughs in the middle of her cries.

After that tearful reunion Satsuki was taken to the room that had been prepared for her.

"Well, this brings back some memories. My old room, it looks just like I remember it being. "

"The other rooms are for the guests. You aren't here as such."

- "Thanks mother. I'll be out of your way as soon as I heal."

- "You are free to stay here for as long as you want. This is still your home, if you want it to be."

- "Mother, you know I have my life in Tokyo."

- "So you are leaving Ohana behind again? She doesn't want to go back to Tokyo."

- "I know... Do think I don't miss her?"

- "So stay here, with us".

- "Mom, let's not start again. I don't want to fight now. I'm too tired for that."

- "... Fair enough. I'm leaving you to rest. I'll bring you dinner later."

- "Are you the one in charge of taking care of me? I thought you were going to put that task into one of the waitresses."

- "They are here to serve the guests of the Inn. And you are here as part of the family, so Ohana, Enishi and I will be the ones in charge of taking care of you. "

- "You guys are going to spoil me".

- "You have always been a spoiled child."

- "Eeeh! I've been told again, haven't I ?"

- "..."

The mother-daughter interaction continued as per usual. But after a few more minutes of casual conversation Sui left her daughter to rest. It had been a long ride back. She was tired too, but she still had some explaining to do to her employees. They were all waiting for her in the staff room. She went straight to the point.

- "As you now know, Satsuki is not here as a guest. She's here as part of the Shijima family, but none of you are under the obligation of serving her. Ohana, you don't have to worry about doing your work as waitress for the time being. Tomoe and Nako will share among them your share of the Inn work. You just take care of your mother, and spend some time with her. As for the meals, Mr Ren, I would appreciate if you added one more person to the staff meals. I would take care of cooking for her personally but I don't want to intrude in your kitchen."

- "Don't worry ma'am, it's no problem to cook for one more."

- "Thank you."

- " Well, as always, the Inn service must continue as usual."

- "Yes Ma'am!" They all said in one voice.

- "Alright then, that's decided, you may all return to your posts." They did so immediately, except for Ohana and Enishi who stayed behind.

- "Uhm, Madam Manager... Who is going to take care of mom while I'm at school?"

- "I will. She's my daughter after all. And you can call me grandmother from now on, when we are in private."

Ohana smiled. - "Alright". At least this tragic event had brought the Shijima family closer. She had been surprised to see her grandmother being so concerned with her mother. It pulled at the strings in her heart.

- "Enishi, as always you are in charge of most of the managing tasks."

- "Yes, Madam Manager".

- "You two may leave as well. Ohana, your mother is probably resting now, so don't go bother her now. Just wake her up when dinner time comes. She must eat and take her medication".

- "Understood!"

The rest of that day's afternoon went uneventful. Satsuki slept until late afternoon but she remained in bed after waking up. She knew better. If someone caught her walking about she wouldn't hear the end if. She had doctor's recommendations to do mild excise, walk for a few minutes in the morning and again in the afternoon during the first week after leaving the hospital. But she already exceeded her quota of "exercise" for today, with the long trip back home and all the excitement inherent to it. Home, Kissuiso was her home, it had always been. She had lived in Tokyo in the last 17 years, but due to her work and inconstant love life she was always moving around, hardly staying in one place long enough to call it "home". And she spent most of day, and sometimes night time, not at home. She knew that Ohana felt lonely, staying at home by herself, waiting for her to come home from work. She as a nice kid, but she didn't had many friends. Most of the kids her age would hang out with their friends after school, but not Ohana. After school she would come home right away, she would do her homework, clean the house, do laundry and cook dinner. It was not a way of life that a little girl should be living, Satskuki knew that. But working late almost everyday was necessarily. There were bills to be paid, food to put on the table, rent and all sorts of other expenses that came with the handful task of raising a kid that needed to be taken care of. She wasn't proud of being an absent mother. It pained her heart to see Ohana's sad and her disappointed face every time she didn't kept her word of being there for parent's day, for not going to see her performing at school plays, for not being home earlier on important occasions such as Ohana's birthday... Looking back now she realized that she had missed out on the most important years of Ohana's life. She was sixteen now, a young woman now, and the worst was, she had already "left the nest" (well, to be true to herself she had to admit she was the one who "pushed" Ohana off the nest, by leaving that night and sending her to Kissuiso). Her daughter would probably stay there until graduating from high school, and after that she would either go to college or work full-time at the Inn. Mother and daughter didn't have that much "bonding" time ahead of them anymore. And Satsuki only had herself to blame for that. But she couldn't afford to regret her actions now. What was done was done. There was no point in crying over spilled milk. She just had to make the best of the little time they still had. Coming back home was starting to look more and more like a viable option.

Stasuki's long contemplation came to a halt with the sound of the door sliding open.

- " So you are awake, that's good because it's time for dinner, mom."

- " Oh, good. I'm starving." Satsuki quickly dismissed the less happy thoughts she had been mulling over and sit up as carefully as she could to prepare to eat.

- "You are joining me, right? You know I don't like to eat alone".

- "Yes, I'm staying for dinner too, so don't start your whining".

- "Geez, you're as harsh as always. Where's the adorable and tearful Ohana of earlier? She was much nicer".

- "Eh! If you don't like the normal me I can leave, you know" - Ohana retorted back, feeling embarrassed for her moment of weakness of earlier that day.

- "Ok, ok. You win. Just stay, alright. I really could use some company, I've been alone in this room all day."

- "Yeah, but you have been sleeping most of the time. So cut with the act. Besides, Madam Ma-, I mean, grandmother came to check on you while you were sleeping, and so did uncle Enishi."

- "Uhm, those two worry to much."

- "Of course, they do! Who wouldn't worry for their family in a situation like this? I'm worried too, you know?" - Ohana couldn't help but to burst out. She was still feeling uneasy – afraid even – ever since she learned what had happened in further detail from her uncle.

The room got quiet all of the sudden. Ohana feeling even more embarrassed than before. She wasn't used to admit her feelings about her mother out-loud, much less in front of her. She did speak her mind often, but only when she meant to reprimand her mother for her actions and to half halfheartedly comment that she didn't saw her as a mother, but more like a woman. However, that was not entirely true either. She loved her mother dearly, just as she was. Satsuki was silent too, staring at Ohana, taking in the full meaning of her daughter's words.

- "I'm sorry I worried you, Ohana... Now let's just forget all about that for now and eat. This delicious food won't taste as good if we let it get cold, and it won't get eaten all by itself either, you know?"

- "Alright". Ohana had to admit. If there was something her mother was good at that thing was lightning the mood.

Mother and daughter ate their meal, making small talk here and there, laughing together on occasion. Satsuki remind herself to engrave this moment deep down in her mind. She would make the best of simple moments like this from now on. That was a promise to herself that she had no intentions of breaking in the future.

After dinner Ohana left to take the empty food trays away, with the promise of coming back later. She had to take care of some school work due for tomorrow and Satsuki was left alone again. But not for long. Enishi came by after sending Takako off for the day (she had stayed there all day with the excuse that there was lots of work to be done but Satsuki had the feeling that she probably had missed Enishi. From the little she had seen and been told, those two were quite lovey dovey with each other, in their own "unique" way).

- "So sis, are you feeling well? You didn't forget to take your medication, have you?"

- "Yes, Enishi, I'm as fine as I can be. And yes, I did take those horribly bitter pills I'm suppose to take. I'm not a child, you know?"

- "Yeah, but you can fool me sometimes, sis."

- " Ha,ha, very funny. You should show some respect to your older sister, little brother."

- " Yeah, I've come to respect you more in the last few days, actually."

- " What is that supposed to mean?"

- " Ah, nothing, really. I just realized there is more to you that what you let us see."

- "You are starting to creep me out, Enishi. It's not like you to talk in cryptic messages."

- " Sis, out of the two of us, you are the mysterious one, not me."

- " What are you talking about, Enishi? You know that with me, what you see it what you get."

- " That's not true and we both know it. For instance, what will you say if I ask you why you resisted when you were being mugged?"

- "..."

- "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?"

Satuki didn't like where this conversation was going.

- " You know me. I can do very stupid things sometimes. I was probably not thinking straight, with the adrenaline of the moment going to my head and all."

- "Oh, really? But I've heard you fought back particularly hard to recover one specific item. A postcard, was it? And why is that sis?"

- " How do you know about that?"

- " Sis, that postcard of the Inn was what allowed the hospital to locate and contact us."

- "I see... So that means that the hospital still has it?"

- "You really are interested in that postcard, aren't you sis?"

- "Just answer the question Enishi!"

- " Easy sis, just calm down. Don't forget about your stitches. And to answer your question, no. The hospital doesn't have the postcard anymore. I do. It's inside the same envelope that came with your hospital paperwork."

- "..."

- " Don't worry. Whatever it is, I haven't read it."

Enishi though it was best to hide the fact that he had read the postcard, for now. She had really freak out just by the mention of it. He had to be careful around the subject. If he really wanted to help her out he had to play his cards very well. He had wanted to bring Takashi's name up, but if he were to do it now she would realize that he had read the postcard and that he was aware of her secret. For now he would just change the subject to something more innocent.

- " Anyway, you can have that envelope and everything that's inside of it when you get back to Tokyo. Most of that stuff is hospital bills though. So there's no rush in getting hold of them, is there?" - Enishi playfully said. He had to go back to his normal cheerful idiotic self, otherwise Satsuki would get suspicious.

- "Yeah. There's no rush." Satsuki sounded more relieved now. Enishi was glad he had successfully placated her suspicions, for now at least.

- "So, if I were you I would prepare myself."

- "Prepare myself for what?"

- "You are probably going to get a few visits starting tomorrow. News travel fast around here, as you well know, and the fact that you are back is probably going to attract some curious folks."

- " Oh, dammit. Why should they be interested in me anyway? It's been years since I left this place."

- "Well, but you are still a Shijima. You know that mom has quite a reputation. People will come just out of respect for her."

- "Yeah, I guess."

- "Who knows, you might see some old friends too."

- "Friends? I didn't had that many friends back then. Quite the contrary."

- "Oh, common, you were so popular."

- "Enishi, some envied me, others admired me. But none of those were my real friends."

- "Well, that may be true, but I'm sure there were still people around you that loved you."

- "Yeah, who?"

- "What about old boyfriends?"

For a quick moment Satsuki froze. The moment Enishi mentioned "old boyfriends" the image of Takashi popped in her head. True, this was his home town too. He probably still lived here. But she doubted he would be even remotely interested in visiting her. Their break-up hadn't been a happy one. She had dumped him and given him the cold shoulder. He probably didn't had very fond memories of her either. There was no way that he would come to visit her.

- "Satsuki?"

- "Uh?"

- "You spaced out for a moment there. Don't tell me you were reminiscing about some old boyfriend?"

- "Yeah, something like that."

- "..." Enishi noticed that the boyfriends talk had hit a nerve. But he wouldn't probe deeper, for now.

- "Well, I'm going. There is still some work waiting for me on my desk. You should rest. You will have a long day tomorrow, I believe."

- " I'm not tired. I'm going to read a bit or something."

- " Alright. But don't stay up for too long."

- " Enishi, don't you think I'm old enough to decide my own bedtime? "

- " That depends. You still have the maturity of a elementary school student."

- " Don't push your luck, Enishi. I'm still capable of kicking your ass."

- " Yeah, yeah. I know."

- " Enishi?"

- " Mm..."

- " Could you tell Ohana to get me some rolled up sheets?"

- " Uh?"

- " Just do it. She will know what I mean."

- " Ok, if you say so."

- " Well, goodnight. Rest well sis."

- " You too."

On the way to Ohana and Minko's room Enishi couldn't help but still think about the whole thing about his friend and his sister's past. Those two really needed to meet and talk things through. It was not only their lives that was at stake here, it also concerned Ohana. She had the right to know she had a father, one that wasn't dead. Upon reaching her room, he noticed the door was slightly open. He knock anyway.

- "Hey there, my cute little niece! Studding hard?"

- "Uh... oh I'm just finishing my homework. Do you need something?"

- "I don't, but your mother apparently does."

- "Really? Did she asked for me? I told her I would pass by before going to sleep."

- "I dunno. She mentioned something about some rolled sheets. She said you would know what it meant."

- "Oh, right."

- "I'll take care of it. Don't worry Young M-, I mean uncle."

- "That's better. You don't need to call me Young Master. First and foremost, we are family."

Ohana smiled. She pondered how both her mother and uncle were so laid back when their mother was so strict. Maybe they took that from their father. But she couldn't know for sure. She had never met her grandfather after all.

- "Well, don't forget, ok? We don't want your mother throwing a tantrum because we forget about her."

- "Yeah, that would be something she would do, that's for certain".

- " Eheheh. But we can't help but love her anyway, right?"

- "Yeah"

- "Well, goodnight."

- "Goodnight."

Ohana hurried to finished her homework. She didn't want to left her mother waiting for long. In less than five minutes she was done and on her way to her mother's room.

- "What took you so long, Ohana? You know I can't sleep without something to cuddle with. Eh? Where are the rolled sheets?"

- "Well, I was thinking if you didn't mind if I was their replacement tonight..."

Ohana's voice was small with shyness. Often her mother would "invite" her to replace the rolled sheets and she would always refuse along with some snide comment about asking her boyfriend instead. But today was different. She had wanted to be closer to her mother. Like a small child clinging to her mother's leg, seeking for comfort and reassurance. She wanted to feel protected and that she wasn't alone in this world. She knew she was past the age of crawling into her mother's bed, but maybe her mother wouldn't mind.

Satsuki was surprised. Well surprised was an understatement. She was used to Ohana's rejections whenever she suggested for the two of them to sleep together, and now, to actually see and hear her daughter making the suggestion herself was quite stunning. But she understood the reasons behind Ohana's request. She was still shaken by what had happened. There was no way Satsuki could refuse her daughter a bit of mother's warmth, not tonight at least. She smiled at her daughter's shyness. She felt the urge to tease her about it, but she knew that now was not the best of times for that, she could ruin the moment.

- "Sure. But maybe it's better if you lay down another futon. We would be a bit crammed sharing only this small one."

- "Right!"

Ohana couldn't help but be happy and excited about such a small thing. Apparently she missed her mother more than she had realized. The whole shooting incident only accentuated that feeling.

Sui was about ready to go to her room for a good night of sleep herself. But still she wanted to check up on Satsuki first. She probably was asleep already, since it was late but a small peak couldn't hurt. She opened her daughter's room door just enough to see inside. As expected the room was dark. Small breathing sounds could be heard. But she though they sounded a bit "younger" than she expected them to be.

- "Hey mom, still up?"

Satsuki greeted her mother in a whisper loud enough for the older woman to hear her, but not loud enough to stir Ohana from her deep sleep. Her mother was surprised to hear her daughter's voice. No trace of sleep in it whatsoever. Yet she couldn't understand why she was whispering.

- "What about you? Did I awoke you?"

- "No. I can't sleep. I shouldn't have slept so much this afternoon."

- "I see."

She was still unsure about the reason why they were both whispering in the dark. But that was when Sui's eyes adjusted to the room's darkness and she noticed someone else was sleeping cuddled up next to Satsuki. Judging by the size and shape, she could easily figured out who it was - Ohana.

- "Ohana is with you? That's surprising."

- "Yeah. This girl can never stop surprising me. It's good to know that I'm still needed as a mother."

- "A mother's job is never finished."

- "Yeah, specially when their kids only give her trouble. Isn't that right, mother?"

- "Indeed."

Both women knowingly smiled. A child will always be a kid in their parent's eyes, no matter how much they grow old and make a life for themselves. Satsuki knew that now, from her own experience. Otherwise she wouldn't be here again, back at home being taken care of by her mother, as if years hadn't gone by."

- " Enjoy these moments. They won't last."

- " I know... We didn't had many moments like this, had we mother?"

- " ..."

- " I said something unnecessary, didn't I?"

- "No. It's true... I wasn't a very caring mother to you and your brother."

Sastuki could hear the regret on her mother's voice. She didn't want to make her mother feel guilty about the past. That was long gone.

- "Mother, you might not have been very good at showering us with attention, but we knew you cared and loved us. I complained, but I knew you loved us. I'm sure Enishi knew too. So there's no need to go down that road now."

- "..."

- "I should go. And you should try to sleep. I'm surprised Ohana didn't wake up with all this whispering though."

- "She's a heavy sleeper. She sleeps like a log when she's tired. She can sleep through anything."

- "She took that from you."

- "..."

- "Well, goodnight."

- "Goodnight mother."

In the end all Shijima women managed sleep well that night. It had been a big day for everyone at Kissuiso, but tomorrow a new one would start.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** This is purely fan made, no profit will be made out if this. I don't hold the rights to Hanasaku Iroha or any of its characters.

**Family Matters – Chapter 5**

As expected, in the next morning a lot of people came to visit Satsuki. She recognized a few faces as being friends or acquaintances of the family, but there were quite a few other faces and names that she couldn't really say she remembered. Yet, she put up with the formalities, politely making chit-chat, and all in all tried to be in the best of her behavior. She knew her mother would not be pleased if she pulled up one of her typical jokes or witty remarks. She did not want to spoil the good mood that had been set with her mother after her "incident".

Ohana and the other girls were at school and they would only return late in the afternoon, but at the Inn the service continued as normal. Madam Manager had indeed kept her word that she would be the one "serving" (she refused – out of pride maybe – to call it "taking care of" ) her daughter and Satsuki was quite pleased with that. Somehow, she felt like a little child being pampered, just like those extremely rare times her mother had done the same back when she would get sick as child. All in all, Sastuki felt that the day was going well, despite the nuisance of the visits. Unfortunately and unknowingly to her, that was about to change, thanks to Enishi's plotting.

Enishi was determined to make his friend Takashi meet with his sister. He had tried to convince him to come to visit her, but he had sounded reluctant. So Enishi decided to give him a call again for a bit more of persuasion (that is the same as to say "annoying him until he agrees"). Hopefully he would be in his lunch break by now. So he picked up his cell phone and dialed Takashi's cell phone number. After a few rings, he picked it up.

- "Hey Enishi, what's up?"

- "You tell me. Aren't you going to pay Satsuki a visit?"

- "Oh, that again... you are a persistent one. I told you, there is no point in doing that. We haven't talk in years, so coming to visit her now out of the blue would be weird and not to mention extremely awkward."

- "Sorry, but that's not how I see it. She has received a lot of visits today, and we are only at lunch time. She probably will be getting more visits in the afternoon. Most of them are complete strangers to her. It would be nice for her to see some friendly faces. Besides, you are my friend as well. It wouldn't be "out of the blue".

- "That may be so, but it would still be awkward. What would we talk about?"

- "Well, Ohana is a good topic of conversation. You're her homeroom teacher after all."

- "Yeah, I guess..."

- "Com' on, what's the hold up? Don't you want to see her?"

- "I do b-"

- "No "buts". I thought you had more guts than that. This is a good opportunity to put that past of yours behind your back for good, in a good way. "

- "You're right. It's surprising to hear you giving good advice, for a change."

- "Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Geez, what kind of best friend are you?"

- "Sorry, sorry. I was just kidding. Anyway, thanks Enishi. I'll follow your advice. I'll visit her. Today maybe. "

- "Great! You do that. I'll be waiting."

- "Oh, but... don't tell her anything. I want to surprise her. If she knows in advance that I'm coming to visit she might refuse to see me or find a excuse not to."

- "Yeah, yeah. I want to see the surprised look on her face too. It's gonna be gooood!"

- "You are having fun with other people's misery, aren't you?

- "What, me? Of course not. I just want what is best for my beloved sister and for my best friend."

- "Ah, I'll pretend that I believe that."

- "Anyway, I have to go back to work now, before my mother catches me slacking off."

- "Alright. I need to go too. My lunch break is almost over."

- "Ok, bye then, see you later".

- "See ya".

Enishi felt like doing a victory dance. Even if nothing out of the ordinary happened during that visit, it would be a good pretext to confront Satsuki about the postcard. It was no good for things to continue this way. Ohana needed to know she had a father, one that wasn't dead; Takashi deserved to know he was the father of a cute young girl and Satsuki needed to take this enormous weight off her chest. Of course, he didn't expect for everything to go smoothly, in the worst scenario possible, both Ohana and Takashi could end resenting Satsuki for hiding the truth. But that could be amended if all parts sit down to talk things over and let time heal the wounds.

Back at the school Takashi went back to his classes, but all the while thinking of the huge step he was about to take to finally put an end to his unresolved issues concerning Satsuki. Obviously he didn't plan to go further than the normal topics of conversation of how was she doing, if she was feeling better, how was life treating her back in Tokyo, if she was happy with her work, that sort of thing. He wasn't going to bring up the subject of their break-up or of the time they dated. He just wanted to see her again, most likely for the last time, so that he could finally move on with his life. People call this closure, right? Yes, that was all he wanted.

Ohana was heading to the staff room where to she had been called. She didn't think she had done anything to be in trouble, but still, she was a bit afraid. Besides, she had always thought her homeroom teacher to be a bit of a weirdo. A nice guy, but a weirdo nontheless. That was probably one of the reasons for her feeling a bit nervous with the prospect of being alone in his presence. Taking a big breath, she readied herself and knock on the staff room door.

- "Come in."

- "Excuse me, did you wanted to see me, sensei?

- "Oh, Ohana. Yes, I was expecting you."

- "So... Why did you called me here?"

- "Ehehe, no need to be so nervous. I don't bite."

- "S-Sorry, sensei."

- "No need to apologize. Well, the reason why I called you here was to talk about your mother."

- "Uh? My mother?"

- "Yes. You came here as a transfer student in the middle of the year, and you are the only student whose parents I haven't met and talked to yet. I know your mother lives in Tokyo, but she's here in town now, right? For health reasons?"

- "Yes, that's right sensei. She's staying at the Inn where I work."

- "Yes, I know. And that's why I was thinking of coming for a visit."

- "Eh? You want to visit my mother, sensei?"

- "Yes, it's probably my only chance of talking to her."

- "Yes, I suppose."

- "So that's settled then. I'll be visiting later today. I just wanted to let you know so that you wouldn't be caught by surprise. "

- "Oh... alright. But I'm not supposed to be present, am I? I have to work on my shift at the Inn."

- "No, of course you don't have to be present. Ehehe, don't worry, I won't force you to go through that embarrassment."

- "Thank you, sensei." Ohana blushed realizing that her teacher could so easily see through her true reason for not wanting to be present.

- "You know, if you want, I can give you a ride home, seeing that we are heading to the same place."

- "Ah, I appreciate the offer sensei, but I always go with my friends and co-workers. It's the only time we have to hang out outside of school and work."

- "I understand. It's a girls thing, I get it."

- "Sensei, is that all?"

- "Yes, yes. You may leave now."

- "Thank you sensei. Well, if you excuse me..."

Ohana, took a huge breath of relief as soon as she left the staff room. It hadn't be anything serious, but now she was worried for other reasons. What would her homeroom teacher think when he met her nutcase of a mother? Hard to say, since he was a weird fellow himself. She definitely was relieved for not needing to be in the room during that meeting. She was sure her mother would embarrass her, so she preferred not to know how.

Takashi stood before the imponent building of the Kissuiso. It hadn't change at all since the last time he had been there, more than sixteen years ago. Back then he and Satsuki were still dating. He used to pick her up with his bike and they would go to have fun in town. But somehow the building look more threatening now that it had ever looked before. Maybe was his anxiety that was getting the best of him. He honestly shouldn't be this nervous. He would probably end up making a fool of himself if he didn't get a grip. Taking a shaky breath he walked inside the Inn.

Enishi knocked on Satuski's bedroom door before sliding it open. Now it was time to play innocent and let things just happen.

- "Sis, are you up for one more visit?"

- "Eh... another one? I thought that this nightmare was over for today. Who the hell would come this late? I need my rest you know..."

- "I know, sis. But he's an old friend and he couldn't come to visit any sooner, because of his job and all."

- "An old friend? Who is it? I thought I didn't have any friends is this God forsaken place anymore."

- "Ah, sis. Don't be like that. You know that you were pretty popular back in the day. Specially among the male population, right?"

- "Yeah, yeah. So it's an old admirer or something? Geez, the kinda of stuff I have to put up with. Oh well. Let him in. Since he went to the trouble to come, it would be rude not to receive him."

- "Alright sis. That's the spirit. Well, I'll tell him to come. So good luck!" With that Enishi quickly exited the room.

- "Good luck? Wait! What do you m- " Satsuki sighed. Now she knew that her brother was up to something, and that usually meant more troubles for her.

A few minutes passed since Enishi left Satsuki's room. She didn't moved from her position. She was sitting at a small table idly awaiting for her next visit. She was fed up with all this, so she intended to get this one last visit over with as soon as possible.

_- He sure is taking his sweet time to come here. Did he got lost or something? This guy sure is getting on my nerves already. _

As soon as she ended this inner dialogue with herself, a knock was heard at the door.

_- Finally! _"Come in."

The door opened and she heard the soft thuds of the person coming towards the center of the room where she was still sit, looking at the empty cup of tea she had in front of her – remnants of her afternoon snack – not rising her head just yet, her way of showing that she was not happy with this late visit.

- "Satsuki."

Her eyes bulged from their sockets. Surprise taking over her body that went rigid at the sound of that smooth deep voice calling her name. It had been a long time since she last heard it, but there was no way in hell she would not recognize it. The voice that she longed to hear so many times during the last sixteen years, was now still echoing in her ears, and calling up her name no less. Slowly, she raised her head and a pair of dark brown eyes met with a pair of light brown ones.

- "Hey." Takashi's nonchalant greeting did well to hide his own turbulent emotions going inside all his being. She had changed quite a bit from the image he had of her in his mind. But of course that was to be expected. Almost twenty year had gone by. She was a mature woman now. But she was still as beautiful as ever, if not more. 

- "T-Takashi.. W-What are you doing here?" She really hadn't see that one coming... She wasn't mentally prepared to met him again, not now at least.

- "What does it look like? I'm visiting you, of course." He was still trying to playing it cool. So far it was working so he grew a bit more confident. - "I couldn't miss this opportunity of visiting the only parent of one of my students that I hadn't met yet."

- "Uh? What do you mean? You're Ohana's teacher!"

- "Yeah. I'm her literature and homeroom teacher."

- "..."

- "I know, this really is a small world, huh?"

- "Yeah, it really is". Satsuki was stunned. To think that Ohana and her biological father would meet and see each other on a daily basis without even knowing the depth of the bond that connect them together... It was just a great twist of fate, to say the least.

- "I knew she was your daughter as soon as I saw her. She looks a lot like you. She's your spitting image of when you were her age."

- "But our similarities end there. She's a lot more level headed, down-to-earth and responsible than me."

- "Yeah. I can't disagree with you on that one. She must have picked that from her father then."

- "Y-yeah." I was her lame reply. It was true, Takashi had always been a responsible young man. Until they started dating that is. She would always find a way to drag him into her adventures and into doing the kind of wild things that normally he would never dare of doing. But talking about Ohana with Takashi like this was only increasing her nervousness tenfold.

- "She's a good kid, her grades are above average too, despite the fact that she works here. You must be proud".

- "I am. But I know the feeling isn't mutual. I'm not a good mother. I've disappointed her a lot throughout the years. "

- "Everyone makes mistakes. But I'm sure you tried hard to be the best you could, given the circumstances. Being a working single mother must be tough."

- "Yeah..."

- "I'm surprised you didn't remarried. A woman like you could get any man she wants."

- " Replacing Ohana's father in my heart is not that easy."

- "I see... He must have been a great man. No wonder you dump me for him."

- "Please, don't go that way. I told you before, what we had together was just a fling. A juvenile passion that was fun while it last, but nothing more."

- " Sorry... I guess I was the only one who felt that what we had was something more than that."

- "..." Satsuki felt like screaming at the top of her lungs that it wasn't true. That she had also felt the same, and that she still did. Otherwise the pain she was feeling right now at the reaffirming of the lie which burden she had carried all her adult life wouldn't be there, making her heart throb and not because of the bullet wound.

For a minute that felt like years to both of them a tense silence filled the room. Both looking away from each other.

- "Anyway... I've heard what happened to you in Tokyo. How are you feeling now?"

Satsuki was relieved by the change of subject. She had to get herself together. If Takashi had insisted on discussion their past together and their break-up, she wasn't sure if she would manage to keep her facade. So she took the opportunity to take a deep breath and to reply to him while looking at those deep brown eyes of his.

- "I'm doing ok. I'm still not 100% back into shape yet, but you know me, I don't break that easily. I'll be as good as new soon."

"Yeah, I know you will. You were always a force of nature."

Satsuki was annoyed at how a simple compliment from him could still get to her. She always mellowed down whenever he said something like that. Not because of what he said – many men would try to win her over with soft spoken words and cheesy pickup lines – but the truth is that with Takashi those words never felt empty or insincere. And often his eyes told more than just his words. Those dark brown eyes, used to be so soft and so full of love whenever he looked at her. Now that love was gone. She was sure of that. She had hurt him deeply, she knew. Yet, now she tried not to look at those eyes she has loved for too long, afraid of what she might see in them. She only needed to get through this meeting and then it would be over.

- "Somehow I'm grateful it happened. Because I was shot that I'm here now, spending some time with my family. And my mother and I became closer. So it's not all bad. "

- "Yeah, and I had the chance to see you again."

- "Yes, it's nice to see an old friend's face again."

_- So that's all I am now huh? Well, it's better than nothing. _There was bitterness and sadness in Takashi's thought, but at the same time he was glad to be considered more than just an acquaintance. At least he would be able to remember the times they had together with fondness more than sadness from now on. And he was happy for that.

- "Well, we could have seen each other more if you visit more often. Don't you miss this pace? It's not as fun as in the big city, but this is still the town where you grew up. "

- "Of course I missed this place. The countryside, Kisuisso and my family. I miss them all. But life get's in the way. My work takes a lot of my time and energy. And the complicated relationship I have with my mother didn't help either. Until a short while ago I was a persona non grata in here. If it wasn't for Ohana, I would still probably be. "

- "Yeah, your daughter is really something. She's the kind of girl that bringthens a room when she comes in. Ohana is very popular among her classmates."

- "Yeah, even my mother can't resist Ohana's charm. I can tell how proud of her my mother is. She's like the daughter she wanted but that I couldn't be."

- "Hey, don't say that. I'm sure your mother is proud of you too."

- "Nah, that's not true. She resents me for not wanting to continue the family business, for leaving this town, for getting knocked up before being married, for working on the line of business that I do – in sum – in her opinion, I've only brought shame for the Shijima family name. I disappointed her greatly. It's no wonder she disowned me."

- "What are you saying? Things came to this point because you are both stubborn. You refused to follow the plans she had for you, but she also refused to accept that you had your own dreams. She might have been disappointed, sad even. But that doesn't mean she's not proud of what you accomplished."

- "Yeah, and what was that? What did I really accomplished? My job is nothing worth of taking pride in, my private life is a mess, and as a mother I'm nothing but a failure."

- "Stop that. Why do you keep putting yourself down like this? As far as I've heard you are one of the best at your line of work, you raised a kid on your own, and she turned out quite alright. So what if you don't have what others considered a stable love life? At least you are enjoying yourself and making the best of what life trows at you. "

- "*Sigh* Only you to put me on a pedestal. You still think too highly of me."

- "No. I just see what's is right in front of my eyes..."

There he was again, making her feel all awkward with his flattering. He was too kind for his own good. She had to change the subject of the conversation to something else than not herself.

- "Enough speaking of me. What about you? How's life treating 'ya?"

- "Me? Well, there's nothing much to tell. My life is just normal and quite dull."

- "You like teaching?"

- "Believe it or not, I do. Sure, it's not the most exciting or well-paid job in the world. But it has its good side too. I proud of what I do and don't regret choosing this career."

"That's good... And what type of teacher are you? The boring type, the strict type or the cool type? Now she was teasing him. An old habit of hers that she couldn't restrain right now.

- "Eh? I don't know, but I hope it's the later."

"I put my money on the cool type."

"Eh, thanks, I guess." Takashi couldn't help but to blush at the compliment. Well, at least he had taken it as a compliment.

- "Well, it's getting late. I should be going now. You are probably tired. Sorry for coming so late. But with my schedule it was difficult to find a better time."

- "Don't worry about it. You were my last visit of the day, but also the one I enjoyed having the most. I was tired of plastering a smile to my face for old geezers and people I barely remember their names or faces."

- "Your mother is very respectable person around here, people come to see you also out of respect for her. You have to be the good daughter and play or part."

- "I know that, but it's still boring. God! I can't wait to get into top shape again. I need to get out of here."

- "You are in a hurry to leave, huh? You really dislike this place that much?"

- "What? Not, it's not that. I just want to move around on my own, see the sights, breath some fresh air. I want to get out of here, this room. Not the town."

- "Oh, I see. That's good then. Are you planing to stay for long?"

- "I don't know. For now I'm here until I heal, but since the Festival in not far away, and if my mother don't kick me out of the house in the meantime, I might stay until then. It's a good chance to spend some quality time with Ohana too. I guess it would be nice to take her to the places where I used to go when I was her age."

- "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. And if you stay for a while we might get the change to talk again."

- "Ah, y-yes. We might do that."

The prospect of meting Takashi again was something that she was both anticipating and dreading. She had forget how nice it was to just chat and hang out with him. Even if they only talked about banal stuff, just being in his presence was pleasant and fun. But she didn't want to stir old feelings back to life. She knew that deep down she still loved him. No doubt about that. But if they were to see each other more often from now on, she wasn't confident enough in her ability to leave things be as they were. She might not resist to the impulse of pour her heart out, and that would be bad, very bad.

- "..." Takashi was happy. She might have only said that only to be nice and polite, but to know that she wasn't completely against them getting in touch more, hanging out as friends, was enough to make him rejoice. - "Well, I really should go now. You make sure you get well, ok?"

- "I'll do my best. And thanks for coming."

- "No problem. It was nice to see you again."

"Yeah, likewise."

Takashi stood, abandoning the siting position he had before. She also stood but with a bit more difficulty. For a few seconds they only looked into each others eyes, with a small smile in their faces. Awkwardly Takashi extended his hand, expecting Satsuki to do the same. She took his hand but at the same time she closed the distance and kissed him on his right cheek, pulling back right after. He stood there a bit stunned. That unexpected gesture made a small blush creep up his neck. Like a fool he just took a step back as well, bowed and left hurriedly without saying another word.

Satsuki was shocked at her own actions. She wasn't thinking when she kissed him on cheek, her body had moved on its own. It was nothing outrageous, but by all standards she had acted quite boldly. Even between old friends or even between ex-lovers, in the Japanese culture a kiss on a cheek was very informal, and frown upon by most people. She felt like a fool. Poor Takashi had practically run away. Good thing she was probably not going to see him ever again, otherwise she was not sure how would she face him after this.

Enishi had been sitting on the break room sipping a cup of tea, anxiously waiting for Takashi to make his leave. He would probe his friend later. First he had to see how was his sister was doing. What kind of emotions had this visit stirred within her. Takashi had been inside with her for a while now, so things were going well, or at least they weren't going bad. No shouting or yelling could be heard so that was a good sign too.

After a few more minutes of waiting and casual tea-sipping, Enishi heard the oppening and closing of a door, followed by rushed footsteps that didn't took long to get out the front door. Takashi had left in a hurry. Well, that probably was not a good sign, Enishi noted with a frown. Maybe he had hoped for too much. He had wanted to give these two another chance. Not to make them both even more miserable. Well, there was no point in jumping into conclusions on his own. First he had to evaluate the "damage". He needed to talk to his sister first. With that in mind, Enishi stood and made his way over to his sister's room. Reaching her room quickly, he cautiouly and lightly knocked and waited for a response. None came. Was she ignoring him or didn't she heard him knock? Well, he was not going to give up with just that. Well aware that he was putting his health at risk, Enishi just opened the door and stepped inside. He had expected for Satsuki to bark at him for entering without her consent, but what he saw was her, sitting on the floor against the wall, staring at the ceiling apparently lost in thought.

- "Satsuki? Are you alright?"

- "Uh!" Satsuki looked genuinely surprised to see Enishi there. She had not noticed him come in at all, it seemed.

- "I asked if you are alright. You seemed lost in thought. Has the meeting with Takashi gone that bad?"

- "Wha-? No, not at all. It was nice to see him again, after so long."

- "But he seemed to have left in a rush. Did something happened?"

- "Er, well... no, not really."

- "Uhm, you hesitated there for a bit. And you blushed a bit. That doesn't happen often. Something must have happened. "

- "Arg, yeah, I did something stupid but it was no big deal."

- "Oh, really. And what was that, if may I ask?"

- "Leave it. I told you, it was nothing important."

- "If it was something not important than it's ok for you to tell me, right?"

- "Geez, you are a nosy annoying bastard, you know that?"

- "Family trait, can't help it. Now spill it."

- "I kissed him, alright? Satisfied now?"

- "Kiss- You what?" He had thought something had gone wrong, but apparently it was the other way around. This was great news, in his opinion.

- "Don't make such a big fuss. It was only a goodbye kiss on the cheek."

- "Oh..." Enishi's enthusiasm drastically dropped a few notches. He had hopped for a passionate kiss on the lips, but a kiss on the cheek was still good as well, he supposed.

- "Well, it must have been a big deal because you have your mind in the clouds and Takashi was affected by it too, judging by his quick departure."

- "Yeah, he couldn't wait to get away from me... Arg, I'm so stupid..."

- "Don't be like that. He probably was just a bit surprised and feeling a bit embarrassed. You know how he is. "

- "Yeah, well, no point in over-thinking things now. I won't be seeing him again so that's irrelevant."

- "What are you saying, of course you will see him again! You have to!"

- "Geegz, Enishi, what is wrong with you? Why do you care so much anyway?"

- "Of course I care. I only want my sister and my best friend to be happy again."

- "Don't be silly, what that has to do with anything? Don't tell me that you were expecting us to fall into each others arms again, like when we were two teenagers driven by hormones. Grow up, Enishi. That all belongs in the past. Now we are practically two strangers."

- "Yeah, two strangers that also happen to have a daughter in common."

- "Wha-What nonsense are y-"

- "Don't bother denying it. I know it's true. I read that precious postcard of yours. You know, the one you risked your life for?"

Enishi had not wanted to reveal what he knew like that, spurting it out almost in an accusation tone. But there was no way in hell that he would let Satsuki throw her chance away to make things right. Possible romantic implications aside, Takashi and Ohana deserved to know the truth.

For a moment silent fell into the run. Brother and sister stared at each others eyes. Satsuki in schock and something close to panic, and Enishi with fierce determination burning in his eyes. After a while, Satsuki was the first to break the silence.

- "So you know..."

- "Yeah. Enishi replied back, softening his expression. "I was curious on what was so important about that postcard for you to risk your life for it. I was shocked when I read it. I somewhat understand your reasons for what you did. But I won't sit by and watch while you go through your life suffering in silence. Besides, it's not fair to Ohana, neither it is to Takashi. They deserve to know the truth."

- "*Sigh* Don't you think I know that? That's why keeping this secret is killing me. But... but if I tell them the truth now, they are going to hate me forever. I can't loose Ohana... She's my reason to live."

- "I know that it's not going to be easy. They are both going to be hurt. But it's worth the risk. Besides, Ohana loves you. She will forgive you, eventually."

- "I wish I could believe that. But let's face it. She already thinks so little of me, no wonder considering how much of a bad parent I've been, but if she finds out about this, she will absolutely despise me."

- "You underestimate the bond you both have, and Ohana's feelings for you. She's just like you and mom. You all have weird ways of showing you care for each other."

- "You know, that doesn't make me feel any more confident. Are you forgetting that mother and I have been in bad terms for years up until now? That's not the kind of future I want for me and Ohana."

- "Then make sure that doesn't happen. Your stubbornness was what got you and mom in that position. Same goes for mom. It took you almost dying for you two to get over it. If Ohana tries to put distance between you, use your stubbornness to make sure you get her back. "

Satsuki released a short laugh at Enishi's comment. - "Only you to make me laugh at a time like this."

- "That's what I'm here for. You are not alone. I'm going to support you all the way. Dammit, I just want everyone to be happy."

- "You are so naive, little brother. But that's one of the things I love about you. "

A blush flared on Enishi's face at his sisters honest confession. We loves her, and he knows she loves him too, but hearing that was definitely an unexpected but pleasant surprise. Embarrassing too, of course.

- "Yeah, don't try to change the subject. So what are you going to do? I don't want to hear anything about leaving things be as they are. Don't force me to take matters in to my own hands. I'll tell them myself, if you refuse to do it."

- "What? You wouldn't dare?"

- "Oh, but I would. And I will if you don't take action. I don't care if you end up hating me for it. I'll do what I think it's best, for you, for Ohana and for my friend Takashi."

- "Arg! Ok, I'll do it. I'll tell them the truth. But give me more time. I'm not mentally or physically prepared yet."

- "Alright. I'll give you some time. You have until the Festival to tell them the truth. And before you ask, I'm not giving you the postcard until then. If you back away, I'll need some sort of proof to support my story."

- "Why you... You're a blackmailing bastard, you know that?"

- "Sorry sis, but I need to do this. It's for a good cause. The means justify the ends.

- "Fine! But I'll do it, so you won't have to worry... It's just that... I'm really afraid."

- "I know. But everything will be alright, you'll see."

- "I really hope so. But I'm definetely not confident about it."

- "Yeah, it will be more than alright. Ohana and Takashi will be ecstatic with the good news. Ohana will finally have a father, and Takashi will have the family he wanted. And you two... There's a chance of you getting back to each other."

- "Now you are deluding. Even if he forgives me for lying and hiding the thruth for so long – and I doubt that will happen - that doesn't mean we are getting back together. "

- "Ah, I know you still have feelings for him. I read the postcard. He's the love of your life. And I know he never got over you. That's why he's still single, you know."

- "Even if that was true, there are some wounds that can't be healed. I hurt him too much. I had my chance and I blew it. And I definitely don't deserve a second chance. "

- "You think to little of yourself. I 'm sure Takashi would be glad to give you another chance. In truth, you are the one who needs to give yourself a second chance."

- "..." Satsuki considered the possibility of Enishi being right. But honestely didn't think she deserved another change at happiness.

- "Anyway, I guess you have a lot to think about so I'll leave you alone for now. And try to rest too. You had quite a day. So, if you prefer, I'll bring you dinner here. You don't need to drag yourself to join us."

- "Thanks. I appreciate that."

- "Alright. I'll be back later then."

" Mhm."

Satuski was already lost in thought again. And with good reason. She had a lot to think about. How was she going about giving the news that would change their lives forever to Takashi and Ohana? Who was she going to tell first, or should she do it with both of them together? There was also her mother, she had to tell her too. How would the Sui react to such news? Not well, she was sure. Her mother would probably be very disappointed, if not angry at her daughter's bad judgment and life choices. But that was nothing new. The rest it was better not to think about at all. She would deal with the consequences when the time came. All this thiking was making her head hurt already, and she barely noticed the sound of her bedroom door closing, signalizing that Enishi had just left.

Enishi went back to his own room. He was worried about his sister, but at the same time happy for the developments so far. Tomorrow he would probe his friend some more. He had to see for himself what kind of emotions had the little peck incident stirred within Takashi. Enishi was confident that his friend and Satsuki still had a chance of being happy together. The fact that both still had feeling for each other was obvious. Hopefully things would turn out alright. But if problems arose, he was ready to play Cupid and help them out. He wanted a happy ending, dammit.

**Author's Note: ** A super fast update this time to compensate for the long wait for the previous one. I hope you liked this chapter. I won't be able to make another fast update anytime soon because I'll need to figure some things out about the plot. So please be patient.

Anyway, as always, I appreciate if you read & review.


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